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CSU's Brieon Paige, left, and Dana Cranston line up for a block against New Mexico on Friday at Moby Arena in Fort Collins. / Lenn Stout/The Coloradoan

NCAA Tournament selection watch party

CSU’s volleyball team will hold an NCAA Tournament selection show watch party for its fans Sunday afternoon. The watch party will take place from 1-3:30 p.m. in the upper level of CB & Potts, 1415 W. Elizabeth, and food and drink specials will be available. Coach Tom Hilbert and the team will be in attendance, and around 1:30 p.m. Hilbert will speak to the crowd about what he expects to be revealed before the selection process is aired on ESPNU at 2 p.m. After the pairings are announced and the field is finalized, Hilbert will again address the crowd about what to expect looking forward to the NCAA Tournament.

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Nevermind that CSU’s volleyball team dropped the first set Friday night. What matters is they recovered and they’re conference champions.

The Rams won their fourth consecutive Mountain West Conference championship on Friday night, doing so with a 19-25, 25-8, 25-19, 25-21 victory over New Mexico in front of 2,691 fans at Moby Arena.

CSU earned a share of the conference title with San Diego State, which beat Nevada on Tuesday to secure its share. And based on its sweep of the Aztecs in San Diego, the Rams earned the automatic qualifying bid for the league in the NCAA Tournament.

“Tonight was such a big night because it was Senior Night and for the championship, so it’s really cool how it ended up being like that,” CSU senior Megan Plourde said. “Having four championships, it’s been the four best years of my life. It’s something we’ll always remember.”

What they might remember, too, is the slow start to the season that saw them need to win the final seven league matches to secure the fourth straight league title.

CSU (21-7, 13-3 MW) won its final eight matches, including a nonconference match at Northern Colorado that was coach Tom Hilbert’s 400th at the school.

The Rams (21-7, 13-3 MW) will learn their fate Sunday when NCAA pairings are announced. CSU now has reached 18 consecutive NCAA Tournaments and done so in all 16 seasons under Hilbert.

“It was a great match and a great match for the seniors,” Hilbert said. “To give them four rings, four championships, that is pretty darn special. Athletes in a lot of sports at a lot of levels don’t have the excellence these kids do.

“I’m privileged to have them come here and play for me and tonight it was an honor to see them win this championship.”

CSU last lost Oct. 25 at San Diego State. Both teams won out, leaving them in a tie for the league crown. The Rams, however, earned the tiebreak and the automatic spot in the NCAA Tournament based on a sweep at home. SDSU won in four sets in San Diego.

“I think it kind of proved how good we can be,” senior libero Izzy Gaulia said. “We were in some situations we had to win some bog road games that in the beginning of the season we weren’t winning. We just had to focus more and work harder. It shows the team we can be and the team we are.”

The Rams opened the MW season with 3-2 loss at New Mexico. They closed losing their first set before dominating the next three.

Dana Cranston, playing her final home match as a senior, finished with a match-high 17 kills. Plourde had 11 and fellow senior Brieon Paige added eight.

Gaulia had 14 digs and sophomore setter Deedra Foss had 41 assists and six digs.

“The journey we had to take this year, at times, gave us a sense of urgency,” Hilbert said. “It made them focus and try to improve in practice and try to get better. … We were losing matches we shouldn’t lose, so they all got better.

“(All the seniors) had a time they had to work through. That’s where you learn and where you grow. We’re way better than we were eight weeks ago when we lost to them at their place. And I’m excited for the NCAA Tournament.”